


The Hale Academy for the Young and Gifted 2: Summer Break

by Staleinskii



Series: The Uncommons [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, BAMF Stiles, Bad Boy Derek Hale, Blood and Violence, Boarding School, Consensual Underage Sex, Dark, Derek Hale Loves Stiles Stilinski, Drama, Established Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Explicit Language, Fluff and Angst, Full Shift Werewolves, Hurt Derek, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Party Games, Past Kate Argent/Derek Hale, Past Rape/Non-con, Protective Derek, Romance, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Sexual Tension, Stiles Stilinski Loves Derek Hale, Summer, Summer Vacation, Superpowers, Teacher-Student Relationship, Underage Drinking, Violence, Wolf Derek Hale, but very briefly mentioned, they're so obsessed with each other thanks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:34:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28755219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Staleinskii/pseuds/Staleinskii
Summary: Eight months later and it's finally summer vacation for the students of the Hale Academy, a well needed break after the events of the fall. Stiles can’t believe he’s made it this far with supportive new friends, a brooding hot boyfriend, and way more control over his powers than when he first walked through the doors of the school. Now it is time for hundreds of teenagers with superpowers to be released back into the world for three months. Nothing could go wrong...right?The group of friends find themselves at Lydia’s lakehouse for the summer. What they thought would be an amazing time full of party games, drinking, and independence quickly took a dark turn, though, with a suspicious neighbor, loud noises at night, and the terrifying news that one of their previous enemies has broken out of government containment. Now, however, she seems to be stronger than ever and out for revenge on the teenagers that took her down.This story is a sequel to The Hale Academy for the Young and Gifted. It is advised that you read that story first.
Relationships: But minor - Relationship, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Isaac Lahey/Scott McCall, Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Lydia Martin/Jordan Parrish
Series: The Uncommons [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2108166
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back and better than ever. I have decided to continue on in this universe of The Hale Academy for the Young and Gifted because of the immense amount of love and support I received on the first story and my love for the pack with superpowers! To any returning readers, and to anyone new to this universe, welcome and I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> This story is a direct continuation of the first installment eight months later, so you really will not understand much without going to read the first. I promise it's an easy read!
> 
> Please be advised there are warnings in the tags of very briefly mentioned past non-con which is canon to Teen Wolf between Kate and Derek, as well as some blood and violence.

_Stiles held up a hand above his eyes, squinting as the early evening rays of the setting sun warmed him up from head to toe. He spread his other hand across the lush grass and inhaled the beautiful and fresh scent of the forest around him. The birds chirped, the nearby creek trickled over rocks, but the only sounds, scents, and sights Stiles cared about were those of the warm body next to him._

_He no longer needed to hold up his hand to block the sun as a head took its place. Derek smiled softly as he leaned over his boyfriend and gently caressed Stiles’s cheek. “You’re so beautiful,” Derek whispered softly, but Stiles heard it loud and clear even without enhanced wolf ears. “Mine.” The man repeated the word as he peppered the teen’s face with chaste kisses, starting from the jaw and working his way up to Stiles’s forehead and back down until finally he pressed a firm kiss to the lips. Stiles giggled into the kiss and melted under his lover’s touch. This was exactly where he wanted to be for the rest of his life. No worry about his powers going awol, no government agencies watching his every move, and no prying eyes as he accelerated their kiss to one of more passion and desire._

_“Stiles,” Derek hummed and the boy smiled, loving his name on the wolf’s lips. “Stiles...Stiles…”_

“Stiles!”

A sharp voice snapped Stiles out of his afternoon nap and he shot up. His entire english class was looking at him now, a few kids stifling laughs as he was made the center of attention. The teacher, Mrs. O’Donnell, was tapping her foot impatiently with her eyebrows furrowed. She was a frail woman with the ability of literary manipulation. And people wondered why she chose to teach english. 

She finally turned back to her writing on the board and heads slowly turned away. Scott was giving Stiles a funny look, though. “What?” Stiles whispered defensively with red cheeks as he subtly adjusted his school uniform. 

“Oh nothing,” Scott replied, but it was clear he was holding in a laugh. His voice then turned to high-pitched mockery. “Oh Derek! Oh I love you Derek you’re all mine and I’m yours!” Stiles threw an eraser at his best friend’s head and slumped his head on the desk. He couldn’t help it, okay? Things with Derek were great, amazing even. Now he just had to get through this last period and he’d be able to spend the summer budgeting his time between his father and boyfriend. 

He really couldn’t believe it had been eight months at the Hale Academy. Eight months of living in a boarding school with his new friends and gaining more and more control every day over his ability. Nearly eight months of dating the resident sexy bad boy of the school, who just happened to be the headmaster’s son. That news had come out quickly after the events of the early fall. Turns out all it takes is for a community of students and faculty to go through an unstable omnikinetic, an invasion by a government agency, and a serum that brainwashes people into compliancy for secrets to be spilled. What a rough start. 

The loud bell snapped Stiles out of his thoughts and the whole class stood up excitedly. It was officially summer break. “Not so fast!” Mrs. O’Donnell said in an annoyed tone. “I know you’re all excited to get out of here, but don’t forget the assembly!” Kids barely paid her any attention as they nearly ran out of the door. Scott and Stiles followed suit and headed up towards their room before they had to be in the gym. 

“We did it!” Scott bounced on his feet and clapped Stiles on the back. “One more year in this place, then we’re off in the real world.” His eyes went wide as the realization settled in. “Wow.”

Stiles laughed and threw an arm around his friend’s shoulders. He couldn’t imagine what Scott and the rest of their group was feeling. They had barely known anything but this school for almost the past five years, and now they were almost done. Stiles was a little bit different, having known nothing but being a common until last summer. He was kind of sad having only one year left at the academy. These people had grown up together and made memories, and he was still the newest addition until the first years came in the fall. 

The pair made it to their dorm room door and Stiles just waved a hand to open it. His abilities came as practically second nature now. It still terrified him the amount of damage he could cause, but manipulating little things like a door helped him feel a little more grounded and normal (by whatever the definition of normal was in a school of magical teens). The boys each threw their backpacks down and Stiles looked over at the bags he had already packed up the night before, letting out a deep sigh. “You good dude?” Scott said as he slumped back onto his pillow and immediately pulled out his phone. The soft smile that came over his face definitely signaled it was another sappy text message from Isaac that he was reading. 

“Yeah, yeah I am,” Stiles said fondly and sat on his own bed. He looked around the small room, taking in the posters hanging all around that spoke of his and Scott’s personalities. They really had only needed to pack up clothes for the summer, as they’d be in the same room next year, but the dorm still felt oddly empty now. “I don’t know why I’m gonna miss this place.”

Scott shrugged off his uniform blazer and sat up to lean over and pat his roommate on the thigh. “We’ll be back before you know it,” he said reassuringly. “But it’s summer break! Come on. No classes, no homework, no adults breathing down our necks and monitoring our every move--”

“But we’ll all be apart,” Stiles interrupted. “We all live in different parts of the state, and I don’t know if you could tell but you guys are really my only friends.”

Scott cooed jokingly, causing Stiles to throw a pillow at his face. “We’ll still try and see each other,” Scott replied and stood up on his feet. “But for now we have to go to that assembly, then we’re free baby!”

The rest of the school was starting to make their way towards the gym so Scott and Stiles joined the crowd. Once they made it to the end of the boy’s dorms hallway, though, familiar faces were awaiting them. It was kind of funny, two pairs of roommates dating each other that lived right across the hall. It was also incredibly convenient, though. Stiles found himself switching rooms with Isaac for many nights and no one could complain about that. 

“Hey,” Derek greeted Stiles with a bruising kiss that made the teen feel like he was floating. There were few things that caused Derek Hale to show any emotion besides anger and Stiles was thankful to be one of them. 

“Hey yourself,” Stiles said back and nestled under Derek’s outstretched arm. Scott and Isaac shared a similar greeting and the foursome made their way to the assembly. On the way, another student accidentally bumped into Stiles’s shoulder, causing Derek to growl under his breath protectively. “Chill out big guy,” Stiles laughed. The months they’d shared together also revealed Derek to be the possessive and protective type, which Stiles wasn’t mad about. 

The gymnasium was already packed and buzzing with hundreds of different conversations as students filed in. It was a sea of grey and navy blue blazers, but they’d soon be shed for normal clothes once the final bell rang. Stiles couldn’t wait to be able to walk around in just a t-shirt again. They quickly found their other friends and he took a seat between Derek and Lydia as Talia Hale took her place behind a podium in the middle of the basketball court. 

“Settle down,” the headmaster said, and everyone immediately listened. You knew not to mess with Headmaster Hale. “Thank you all for joining me today for our last assembly together. As many of you know, this is customary and occurs every year before summer break. Assistant Headmaster Parrish and I must remind you all of some key safety measures as you venture home.” She gestured towards Parrish, who turned off the lights and aimed a projector at the gym wall to show a list of rules. “The most important reminder to you all is of how crucial it is you all do your part to keep this school and other uncommons safe. That means limiting use of abilities as much as you can. I know many of you like to have free will when you go home.” 

There were a few snickers across the bleachers, to which Talia rolled her eyes. “You must not show any abilities to any commons, though, besides immediate family members and guardians,” she continued. “The DUA already has this academy on high alert since...the _incidents_ of the fall. They will not hesitate to detain you if they catch any abilities being used. To our first and second years who are newer at their abilities and may not have as much control, there will be 24/7 surveillance and monitoring to help you all through it. We ask upperclassmen to set good examples on how to behave. Like always, if any of you feel uncomfortable returning home, dorming and meals will be open to students throughout the entirety of break.”

The assembly was quickly wrapped up and kids nearly ran each other over as they scurried back to the dorms to grab their things. The halls were chaos, cars already lined up outside to pick up students. Some opted to fly out of the school grounds or teleport. Others hopped on a shuttle that ran into town. 

After Stiles got his things he met up with all of his friends in the front foyer of the school. The mood quickly turned melancholy. “So this is it,” he said as his duffle bag plopped onto the ground. 

“I can’t believe my dad is making me go on that stupid camping trip with my step-monster,” Malia groaned. She hugged onto Scott’s arm platonically with a heavy sigh. 

“That sounds better than having to file paperwork all summer,” Liam groaned. “My dad said since I don’t have any other plans he’s going to make me work at the hospital for him so I don’t ‘become a couch potato’.” Theo hugged his boyfriend from behind and nestled into his neck. They were disgustingly adorable. 

Stiles smiled sadly around at his friends then turned to the wolf by his side. “Are you really staying here all break?” he pouted, which Derek kissed right off his face. 

The man then wrapped Stiles up in his arms as everyone else started to say their goodbyes to each other too. “Yeah, this is my home after all,” he said into Stiles’s neck. “But you’ll visit like you said, right?”

“All the time,” Stiles reassured him and squeezed his boyfriend’s firm body tightly. Derek had opted not to graduate this semester...again. This time it wasn’t because of his anger issues, though, but because he wanted to graduate with his friends next year. That was a new thing in the wolf’s life, as before his only friend was Isaac. Stiles was told all the time how he changed Derek’s life for the better by making him feel welcomed and loved. The feeling was mutual. 

The group stood in somber silence for a few more seconds until finally Lydia cleared her throat to catch everyone’s attention. “Gosh you all are so depressing,” she said with an eye roll. “Your minds say that you all don’t want to leave each other, so don’t!” A bright grin came on her face as she quickly tapped something on her phone and held the screen up for all to see. Stiles squinted at the device to make out a huge, luxurious looking cabin sitting on the side of a lake. “You all are coming to my lakehouse, it’s official. My parents and I usually head there for the summer, but they’re vacationing in Prague for the next month. I have been tasked with housesitting, and Lydia Martin never housesits alone.”

Scott took two steps across the circle and engulfed the petite girl into a bone-crushing hug. “Lydia Martin I love you!” he exclaimed and smacked a wet kiss to her cheek. She feigned disgust and wiped it off, but Stiles could see the fondness in her eyes. 

“You are a savior!” Malia cheered and was the next one to hug her best friend. “I was seriously about to commit manslaughter if I had to go on that camping trip.”

“Well that’s two,” Lydia said with a proud look on her face. “Is everyone else down?” A simultaneous cheer came from everyone’s mouths, everyone’s but Derek’s. 

“Der?” Stiles asked and threaded their fingers together.

Derek looked a little bit nervous, and Stiles supposed it was because the man hadn’t really left the academy for a prolonged amount of time in probably forever. The wolf ducked his head as he thought about it, but ultimately ended up giving in with a sigh. “Yes!” Stiles exclaimed and wrapped his arms around the wolf’s neck. He couldn’t believe he was going to spend a month in a beautiful house on a lake with his best friends and boyfriend. He figured he’d just have to spend the second half of summer with his dad. Now all he had to do was convince the man.

…

“Absolutely not.”

“But Dad!” Stiles whined and crossed his arms over his chest as Noah Stilinski pulled the car onto the main road after winding through the forest from the school grounds. Stiles had been home for Christmas, but even that was so long ago so it was weird seeing civilization again. 

“I am not letting my 17-year-old son go on some month-long vacation to a lake house with no parental supervision,” the sheriff simply stated without taking his eyes off the road. “Especially with your boyfriend.”

“My 18th birthday is literally in two weeks,” Stiles huffed. “You can trust me dad, you can trust all of us. Don’t you think after everything I’ve been through I deserve this? Please.” He drew out the end of the word for emphasis and put on his best puppy dog eyes.

Noah rolled his eyes and stole a glance at his son. “Don’t play that card on me,” the man said, but his stern voice was starting to waver. “I...I’ll think about it.”

Stiles pumped a fist in the air. His dad had been pretty chill since everything Stiles had been through, knowing his son needed to experience being a happy teenager for once in his life. The man was still looking at the teen though, distracted for long enough to fail to notice the pedestrian attempting to run across a crosswalk during a green light. “Dad!” Stiles screamed and the man quickly turned back, but Stiles reacted faster. He waved his hand and used his powers to quickly turn the steering wheel. The vehicle narrowly avoided the pedestrian, who sent a very explicit motion towards the father and son.

Noah regained control of the vehicle but it was clear they were both freaked out. “Shit, I’m so sorry Stiles,” he breathed heavily but continued their drive home. “You’re really gaining control of those powers, huh? The training’s working.”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, still a bit shaken up but starting to calm down. “I haven’t really explored more outside of very simple manipulation, but I’m getting the hang of it. Derek’s really helped by staying by my side. He keeps me grounded…” Stiles faded off, realizing now how far apart he was going to be from his boyfriend. They were a young couple, only dating for less than a year, but everything they’ve been through together could have lasted over a lifetime. It was different. They gave each other control and the distance physically pained Stiles.

After a long drive, the car finally passed the Beacon County sign, then finally the town of Beacon Hills came into view. A few minutes later Stiles caught sight of his childhood home, a home full of so many memories he wished to forget, but also some he never wanted to lose. The sheriff pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition but didn’t get out right away. He took a deep breath and faced his son. “You can go.”

Stiles wasn’t sure if he heard his father correctly the first time, absolutely stunned in his seat. “Wait, really?!” he asked excitedly. His mood changed instantly. “Holy shit thanks pops!” He leaned across the seat to pull his dad into a tight hug. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Noah laughed as they broke apart. He put on his serious dad face and held a pointed finger up. “But no funny business, okay? You said Derek helps you and you had a rough start to your first year-” Stiles cut him off with another hug and hopped out of the car, only grabbing his backpack and opting to get his other things later. For now, he needed to update his friends on the good news. 

It was weird being in his bedroom again, but it also felt like he never left. Stiles threw his things down and collapsed onto his full-sized mattress, an upgrade from the dorm room twin bed he’d slept on for months four feet away from Scott. Not that he didn’t love his roommate and best friend, but it was nice to be alone sometimes. After settling into his mountain of pillows Stiles wasted no time in pulling out his phone and tapping on the contact with a big red heart next to it. 

_S: guess what? :)_

He got a reply no more than a minute later.

_D: You already miss me?_

_S: well, yes you dork, but we won’t be apart for long ;)_

_D: I miss you too. Your dad said yes?_

_S: looks like you have a new roommate for the next month :D_

_D: You better not snore like Isaac_

_S: we’ve slept together before??_

_D: In more than one way ;)_

Stiles felt heat rise to his cheeks. He still wasn’t used to how flirty Derek could get sometimes, especially over text. Anyone else who saw the wolf would think he was a stoic wall, but he could be quite suggestive when he wanted to be. The teen chewed on his thumb as he thought of a response and typed it out.

_S: well you can expect a lot more of that when we’re alone at the lake ;) i don’t think i’ll be able to keep my hands off of you in front of everyone if you’re shirtless...or just at all_

_D: Good, I don’t want you to hold back_

Before Stiles could respond, his phone screen flashed a picture of him and Lydia with the redhead’s caller ID in bold letters up top. He frowned, quite sexually frustrated already from his brief conversation with Derek. At least Lydia couldn’t read minds through the phone.

He hit the answer button and pressed the phone to his ear. “I assume you’re calling about my dad’s decision?”

“ _Oh please babe, I already know and I’m so excited,_ ” she squealed from the other end of the line. Stiles sat up, expecting to have to deliver the news himself. 

_Could_ she read minds through the phone? “Who told you?” he asked.

“ _Well Derek told Isaac, who told Scott who told Liam who told Theo who told Malia who told me. I’m honestly offended you didn’t come to me first._ ” 

“Well I was about to-” but Stiles was unable to finish before Lydia kept rambling on. 

“ _So here’s the plan,_ ” she said. Stiles slumped in his desk chair as he prepared himself. “ _I’ll text you the address. Everyone’s getting there on Saturday and I already have the rooms set up. You and Derek will be together, obviously, just like all the other couples...which is everyone but Malia and I now that I realize it, kind of rude of you all not leaving any single boys for us._ ”

"What about Parrish?" Stiles chimed in.

There was a second of silence. " _I told you, him and I are strictly assistant headmaster and student with benefits, nothing more._ " She quickly got back on track. “ _Anyways Malia and I are going to make a food and alcohol run tomorrow and get there early to stock up because, you know, I can get into people’s heads so they’ll believe we’re 21._ ”

A nervous pit started to settle in the bottom of Stiles’s stomach as he zoned out of the conversation. He realized the last time he had been in a house alone for a while with no parents and a huge supply of booze was with his old friends and Heather. It had been a while since she came into his mind, something he felt guilty about, like it was his responsibility to keep her memory alive. They had all escaped to his old friend Rachel’s beach house after her parents went out of town. That trip should have been Stiles’s first realization that something was up. Heather was distant and cold and not sober for a minute. Stiles didn’t go one day without a migraine that no amount of painkillers fixed and he knew it wasn’t from the amount of alcohol he had consumed.

“ _Stiles? You there?_ ” Lydia’s voice snapped him out of it.

“Yeah sorry,” Stiles responded and rubbed a hand over his face. His chest started to hurt as the desire to be with Derek grew in that moment. 

“ _Good. See you saturday?_ ”

“Yep, saturday,” Stiles repeated and hung up the phone. His screen went back to Derek’s previous text, but suddenly he wasn’t in the sexting mood. Derek would understand, he always understood everything and anything about the teen and it made Stiles fall more in love with him everyday. Opting to block out the painful thoughts and longing, though, Stiles laid back down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. His fingers sprawled out to grip at the familiar blue comforter beneath him, and the action reminded him of his daydream of the forest earlier that day. Only this time, he was missing his werewolf boyfriend above him. 

Being at home made Stiles feel like a common again. The realization settled in that there were no more classes specific to teens with superpowers, no more training every week with Deaton and Parrish, just being common. It didn’t feel like he was one of the most powerful uncommons in the world. Stiles knew there were other omnikinetics out there, but they were either in enough control of their abilities to stay hidden or too unstable to keep living in the DUA’s eyes. Omnikinetics were at the top of the watch list, next to siphons like Isaac, who could be just as unstable if combined with one of Stiles’s kind. He knew he was crazy, but it did always feel like someone was watching his every move just waiting for him to act out again. 

He rolled over on his bed and up into a ball as the exhaustion of the day caught up with him. Stiles let himself drift off and changed his thoughts to more positive ones, dreaming of a relaxing lake vacation with the love of his life. It was exactly what they all needed.


	2. Chapter 2

The drive to the lakehouse was just as beautiful as the actual place they’d be staying. Stiles’s rickety jeep winded through forest roads popping out near other lake communities. The northern california redwoods towered over him, making the teen feel small in comparison. Sublime was blasting through the fuzzy radio and the backseat was filled with suitcases ready for a long vacation. 

Noah had reluctantly let his son go with a very stern talk about being safe (in more than one way, to which Stiles plugged his ears and kept singing “la la la” until his dad shut up about his and Derek’s sex life). It made it easier to let Stiles go, though, now that he had an immense more amount of control over the power coursing through his veins. There hadn’t been an incident since right before winter break where Stiles might’ve accidentally took down a stadium light during a late night game of football with his friends after he got a bit too frustrated at himself for failing to catch the ball a lot. It was a minor fluke preceded by a migraine he knew he couldn’t stop, as Derek was too busy with his mom to join them, but Parrish and Deaton made sure to train him to deal with anger and frustration more after that. There had been a few headaches spread out since then, but nothing happened more than a lightbulb flickering or a gust of wind. Stiles could say he was pretty confident in his control now, though it definitely helped to have Derek nearby just in case. 

A clearing broke out in the woods as the jeep rattled to a slow roll through large iron gates. Soon, large million dollar lake homes appeared through the trees, all spread out over rolling hills surrounding a ginormous natural lake in the center. “Wow,” Stiles whispered to himself, not used to such luxury in Beacon Hills with them living off of only his single father’s small town sheriff’s paycheck. He followed his phone’s gps directions to the address of Lydia’s house, and it surely didn’t disappoint. 

The home was built of wood and stone like a real cabin, but it was about ten times the size. Large windows decorated the outside to make it feel open and bigger, and a huge staircase surrounded by expert landscaping led up to the double front door. A couple of cars were already in the long, circular driveway, and Lydia waved to Stiles from where she was pulling out a case of beer from the back of what he assumed was her own blue toyota. The jeep was a ramshackle machine in comparison to the nicer cars surrounding it. He even spotted a sleek black camaro and immediately knew who it belonged to after numerous late night conversations with his boyfriend, just talking about their lives. 

“Hey Lyds,” Stiles greeted her with a big hug when he hopped out of his car. He then moved to his back seats to try and get all of his bags out in one trip, but it proved difficult with one weighing him forward and another tipping him to the side. 

A strong arm came out of nowhere and lifted a bag out of Stiles’s hand with ease like it weighed absolutely nothing. Damn wolf strength. “Need some help?” the familiar voice teased and Stiles rolled his eyes at Derek, but couldn’t stay annoyed for long. He maneuvered around the luggage to attack his boyfriend in a tight hug. Derek laughed into Stiles’s hair as he held the boy close with one hand on the back of his head. “I missed you too.”

“I can’t believe we’re here, like together,” Stiles nearly squealed from excitement. “Look at this place Der, the lake, the house, _you_. I mean, it’s one thing to live across the hall from you all school year and see you everyday still, but now we get to practically live together for a bit and just fall asleep every night in each other’s arms and-” 

Stiles was shut up by a quick, hard kiss and Derek started to walk up the stairs and into the cabin. “I can’t wait to have you rambling to me all night,” the man joked. Stiles quickly scurried after him while trying to juggle the other bags he held. 

“Oh please, you love it,” he teased back, but then his jaw dropped in awe at the interior of the home. The outside was one thing, but the inside was breathtaking. It was modern, yet rustic all at the same time. Stiles was afraid to take a step forward onto the fluffy white rug, or anywhere really in fear that he’d break anything he touched. The place was lit with warm, inviting lighting and another huge staircase hugged the side of the foyer and led to the second story. 

“Pretty nice, huh?” Derek said and started to ascend the stairs. “Follow me to _our_ room.” Stiles couldn’t see the front of his face, but he knew the wolf was smiling and it made his heart happy. 

Each couple had been blessed with their own room, while Malia and Lydia each got their own. The room was impressive too with a large king mattress and huge windows that overlooked the lake. The afternoon sun reflected off the water, just taunting Stiles to jump right in right then. He spotted Scott, Isaac, Malia, and Theo already down by the dock taking in the beautiful view. Malia blurred for a second and returned no more than a millisecond later in her bikini with a towel in hand. The other boys laughed as she sprinted off of the end of the dock and did a perfect flip in the air before diving in. 

“This is perfect,” Stiles mumbled against the glass of the window, happiness overtaking every inch of him. Derek came from behind and wrapped his arms around the teen’s waist, hooking his chin over Stiles’s shoulder. 

“It is,” Derek said with a hum and in one fluid movement spun Stiles around so that they were facing each other and pinned the boy back with an arm on either side of his head. “You are.” Derek wasted no time in attaching their lips together for a steamy kiss. Stiles’s knees immediately felt weak as his senses were flooded by nothing other than _Derek_. Time stopped and they were the only two people in the world as Stiles gave in to the addiction that was his lover, the man’s lips exceptionally soft against his own. 

It accelerated quickly, Derek picking Stiles up by his thighs with ease and throwing him down onto the plush mattress before covering him with his own warm body. Each touch to his skin set Stiles’s nerves on fire. Everytime Derek kissed him it was like the first time, an explosion of passion and want and love. Derek’s mouth quickly attached itself to the side of Stiles’s throat, kissing and biting down in all the right places that caused the teen’s back to arch off of the bed and press their bodies even closer together. He gasped as Derek bit down hard where neck met shoulder and he gripped onto the soft dark hair above him tightly. 

“Derek,” Stiles whispered out into the room and soon hands were up shirts, about to rip them off when a voice cleared itself in the doorway. Derek quickly detached himself from Stiles and sat up on his elbows, still caging the boy down. His adorably angry eyebrows furrowed down towards Lydia who was smirking by the entrance to their room. 

“What,” Derek deadpanned, and Stiles couldn’t help the warm blush that stained his cheeks as he buried his face in Derek’s chest. 

“Whenever you two are done,” the girl started smugly, “we’re all going for a swim. Drinks and snacks are already out back.” She spun on her heel and walked away with a skip in her step. 

Derek turned back to Stiles and let out a deep sigh. The wolf pressed one more kiss to his lips before pushing himself up and walking over to a black duffel bag in the corner of the room. “That’s it?” Stiles whined, having to adjust his tightening pants as he sat up on the mattress. He waved a quick hand to shut the door in case anyone else decided to pay an impromptu visit. “Come on, we can get a quickie out.”

Derek just smirked and shook his head as he started to undress. Now that was really unfair. The man was standing fully naked in front of Stiles in all of his glory. It brought Stiles back to when he first saw Derek’s unreal muscles dripping wet late at night in the showers at school. His breath was taken away then before he even knew he was into Derek, and it was definitely taken away now. “You dick,” Stiles huffed as his boyfriend pulled on dark swimming trunks. “You’re really going to make out with me then get naked and _not_ expect me to wanna fuck you? Wow, some world we live in.” Stiles pouted the whole time he got his own bathing suit on, and Derek still just looked amused. 

“Trust me, we’ll have plenty of time for that,” Derek said in a low tone and wrapped Stiles into a hug, pressing their shirtless torsos together. He laid a light kiss on the top of Stiles’s forehead, something that made the boy’s stomach do somersaults every time. “For now, let’s join our friends and kick off this vacation.”

“Fine,” Stiles huffed. “You go first, though. I’m going to need to let this die down a bit first.” He gestured down to the very clear tent in his pants. “I’m glad you’re the only one who can smell arousal.” Derek just chuckled and reluctantly let his boyfriend go to walk out of the room, and if Stiles watched his ass in that bathing suit the whole time it got further away, well then sue him. 

Five minutes later they were outside enjoying the summer sun with all of their friends. Mason and Corey couldn’t end up making it, but Stiles knew they had another group of friends they saw a lot so he hoped they were still having fun somewhere. 

“I told you not to splash me Scott!” Lydia shrieked as she tried to fix her perfectly pinned up hair from her place on the end of the dock. She was the only one not in the lake, the rest of them swimming around and laughing in the shallow water. The girl attempted to splash Scott back, but he was too quick and held up a forcefield around his head. She pouted in return, but then Isaac came out of nowhere once the forcefield was down and shoved his boyfriend’s head underwater with a laugh. Lydia thanked him. 

“Hey no abilities, remember?” Liam said to Scott and gestured over his shoulder. The whole group turned to see some kids playing in the water across the lake with some adults watching from the shore. The other side was about half a mile away, so they hoped if anyone saw Scott’s powers they couldn’t really tell what it was. 

“Whoops,” Scott said as Isaac wrapped him in a hug from behind. “But we’re free! No one’s watching us anymore.”

“I say who cares if you use them inside the house,” Malia piped in, looking guilty herself at using her abilities earlier. “Just don’t use them outside, that fair?” Everyone nodded, but an uncomfortable feeling settled in the pit of Stiles’s stomach that he couldn't’ explain. 

Why didn’t he believe that no one was watching anymore? Dr. Hawes made it very clear last time they had a run in with the DUA: _I’m putting you on watch, though, kid. If you don’t actually have these powers under control, I will be back on these grounds to take you away myself._ The back of Stiles’s neck tingled every time he walked outside, and right now was no exception. 

“Stiles?” Derek said as he watched the teen scan all around the lake with a worried expression on his face. 

Stiles didn’t answer, even when Derek swam over and rested a hand on his shoulder. It was like every nerve on his skin was on high alert now, like someone really _was_ watching them. His eyes kept scanning until they settled on a man standing on the patio of the house next door. Granted, the next house was a good ways away, but Stiles could very clearly see this older man dressed in drab clothing staring right at them. They looked at each other in silence for a few more seconds, then the neighbor just turned on his heel and disappeared into the house. 

“Lydia, who was that?” Stiles asked. “There was a man outside that house.”

Lydia turned her head to follow where he was pointing and shrugged. “No clue,” she answered. “That house was sold a few weeks ago to a new owner. I haven’t met him.”

“You don’t think he saw…” Theo trailed off and tilted his head in Scott’s direction.

“Let’s hope not,” Derek answered sternly and rubbed Stiles’s back to calm him down, probably having sensed how tense and nervous his boyfriend was. Stiles shook his head to clear his mind and climbed back up onto the dock. 

“I need a drink,” he said and walked under a trellis over to the side where a table hosted an array of snacks and drinks of all kind. The rest of the group soon followed suit, ready to get the party started. While Stiles opened a beer for himself, Malia was already tipping back shots of vodka with Theo. Derek just stood with an arm around Stiles protectively as his wolf healing didn’t allow him to feel the effects of alcohol. The weight on his shoulders was comforting to Stiles after the odd feeling he still couldn’t shake. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent by the water just laughing in the sun. Malia soon joined Lydia to tan on the dock while the boys threw around a football in the water, and before they knew it the sun was setting and people made their way back to the house. Stiles was still mesmerized by the luxurious cabin every time he walked through it, and almost lost his way to his and Derek’s room. He might have walked past Theo and Liam getting _very_ hot and heavy with the alcohol already in their system. Stiles just cringed and used his powers to close their door on his way by. 

“I don’t know about you,” Stiles said as he walked into his room and shut their own door. “But I need a shower.” 

Derek was slumped on the bed on his stomach with his arms folded underneath his head. He smiled fondly at the boy and sat up, grabbing Stiles by the hips as he walked by. Stiles giggled and leaned down to kiss the wolf from his place between the man’s thighs. Soon, though, strong hands traveled down his back and landed on his ass, delivering a firm squeeze. “Need some company?” Derek said with dark, lustful eyes. He let them flash blue for a second, something he knew drove the teen absolutely wild. 

“Absolutely,” Stiles replied and wasted no time in grabbing Derek’s hand and practically running into the en suite bathroom. He thanked Lydia’s wealthy family for buying a house with huge walk-in showers as he reached inside to turn on the water. When he turned around, Stiles was greeted with a beautiful sight. 

Derek was closing the bathroom door completely naked again, his skin already kissed by the sun after their fun afternoon. Every muscle in his back flexed as he reached above his head to stretch. This man was seriously going to be the death of Stiles. How could someone that hot exist? Much less be _dating_ him? 

“Like what you see?” Derek teased, snapping Stiles out of it. The wolf walked over and nearly ripped off Stiles’s own bathing suit in one movement, then smashed their mouths together. They were absolutely obsessed with each other, unable to ever get enough. Every kiss felt like that too with tongues and teeth clashing in hunger. Derek put his hands on the back of Stiles’s thighs and lifted him up with ease. Stiles let his legs wrap around his lover’s waist, their bare bodies pressing together everywhere. It was overwhelming, yet not enough all at the same time. Stiles deepened the kiss as much as he could while gripping onto Derek’s hair and pulling it in a way that drew out a moan so low it sounded like a growl. Stiles never thought he’d be so attracted to animalistic qualities in the bedroom, but when Derek brought out his claws and fangs it elevated the steamy atmosphere that much more. 

Speaking of actual steam, the bathroom was already fogging up from both the hot water and the hot makeout session happening. Derek walked Stiles into the huge shower and directly under the spray, but neither guy seemed to mind as water ran down their bodies through every crevice. They both knew where this was going as Derek’s fingers gripped tighter on Stiles’s ass until they ventured closer towards the middle. The pair could worry about actually washing the lake grime off later. 

…

Once the couple finally rejoined their friends downstairs, there were numerous hot pizzas cooked and sitting on the counter ready to be devoured. Stiles was limping slightly, Derek having gone a little bit hard after his wolf instincts took over, but he wasn't complaining.

Malia smirked when she saw, though. “About time you lovebirds joined us,” the girl said and grabbed the first plate to dig into the food. 

“Shut up,” said Stiles once he saw everyone's knowing looks. “Hey, I didn’t appreciate walking by Liam and Theo practically fucking earlier, okay? At least we had the door closed.”

Theo held a hand over his heart, pretending to be offended. “Excuse me,” he said and wrapped an arm around Liam’s shoulders while simultaneously flipping Stiles off with the same hand. “We didn’t go any further than what you saw...yet. You’re just lucky none of us here have super wolf hearing like Mr. Eyebrows over here.”

“Mr. Eyebrows?” Derek looked unamused as he crossed his arms over his chest. The action caused his tight t-shirt to stretch over his biceps and Stiles really tried to control himself and not jump the man’s bones again. 

“Look, I don’t care what happens here as long as I don’t see it or hear it,” Lydia said and downed the rest of her fruit looking cocktail before repouring another one. “It isn’t fair that Malia and I are the only ones not getting laid this weekend.”

“Amen sister,” Malia said and tapped her glass against Lydia’s. Stiles raised his eyebrows towards the redhead, knowing she wished for a certain pyrokinetic to be present, but that’d just make things way more awkward. Lydia still hadn’t told anyone else about her and Parrish besides Malia, as they were best friends. It was a juicy secret for Stiles to keep but he knew it wasn’t his to spill. 

“Which is why we’re going to play a little bit of spin the bottle later,” Lydia smirked. “As long as everyone’s cool with that.” People looked more excited than turned off to the idea, even though a majority of them were coupled up. They were a close knit group of friends and knew nothing would mean anything. It was just a lighthearted game to pull out when they were intoxicated.

And intoxicated they did get. After a filling pizza dinner and many more shots later, everyone stumbled over each other as they sat in a circle on the plush, expensive-looking carpet of the living room. Derek was really the only sober one at that point, but he just sat back on his hands amused at the bumbling drunks around him. Stiles couldn’t help but be pressed up close against his side, his fuzzy mind still needing some sort of physical touch from the wolf. 

“I’ll go first!” Theo slurred and spun the empty beer bottle while a full one sat in his other hand. The bottle spun and spun until finally it settled on Isaac, whose eyes went wide like a deer caught in headlights. “Pucker up Lahey.” Theo made loud kissy noises as he leaned into the center of the circle. Liam and Scott didn’t mind, instead just laughing as everyone cheered on the boys. Isaac looked more uncomfortable than anything, still the shyest one of the group. He gave in, though, and met Theo halfway to press a loud, but quick kiss to the guy’s lips. The group erupted into laughter and hollers and Isaac made a show of wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand, but Theo just smirked. 

“I guess that means I’m next,” Isaac said and took his turn. Just his luck, the bottle stopped on the boy right next to him.

“This game is totally rigged!” Malia exclaimed light-heartedly, probably the drunkest out of all of them. Isaac just shrugged with a big smile and grabbed Scott’s face between two hands. They didn’t hold back and attacked each other’s mouths with a passionate, open-mouthed kiss. There was a lot of tongue and hands roaming and Lydia had to nearly pull them apart before it escalated. 

Scott’s face was flushed red as he spun the bottle and it landed on Malia. She just gave a little cheer before her and Scott pecked quickly. “Come on McCall, boring!” she giggled, but sat back to take her turn. The bottle slowed down to a stop right in front of Stiles.

Stiles thought nothing of it. Him and Malia were close friends now and bickered practically like siblings. The girl’s face held an unreadable expression, though, of almost nervousness and embarrassment. Stiles started to lean over and was only mildly aware of the subtle rumble of a growl coming from Derek next to him. He knew Derek didn’t care, so why was he being such a party pooper? 

Before their lips could touch, though, a loud bang came from outside. It caused everyone to jump, even Derek, who was too busy paying attention to Stiles and Malia to have heard anything. “Uh, what the hell was that?” Theo said, trying to act all tough still like it didn’t bother him, but his hand was grasped tightly in Liam’s. 

“No clue,” Derek said and was on his feet in a second. He walked towards the front door, everyone following him close behind as if he was a shield to whatever was out there. Derek turned back to the drunk group and rolled his eyes as he put his ear to the door and motioned for them to be quiet. “I don’t hear anyone nearby. I’m going to go check it out.”

“Wait!” Stiles said and grabbed the man’s arm. “We don’t know what that was Der. Let us come with.” He was a little bit sobered up from the frightful noise. 

Derek nodded and opened the door. They all stepped outside onto the front porch and the wolf’s eyes flashed blue as he scanned the surroundings and sniffed the air. “There’s no trace of anyone having been near here,” he said.

“That bang was really close, though, whatever it was,” Isaac spoke up, staying close by his best friend’s side. He laid a hand on Derek’s shoulder to help him and siphoned a bit of wolf power to also survey the area. “It sounded like it was right outside the door.”

“It was a gunshot,” Malia spoke up from the back of the group and everyone turned to look at her with questioning eyes. She inhaled shakily. It was rare to see Malia that scared of anything, but she looked fragile right now. “My dad used to hunt all the time. I’ve shot one of his guns myself. I would know a gunshot from anywhere.” Lydia whined and hugged close to Stiles’s side.

“It was probably someone just hunting...right?” Scott added to try and calm down the group, and himself. “Right?” He turned to Derek for some reassurance. 

Derek sighed and his nostrils flared again as he sniffed around. “Isaac’s right,” he said. “It was really close to us, but I don’t smell any sign of hunting.”

Stiles stood silent to the side, but it was to do his own scanning of sorts. It was something Deaton had helped with back at school. Omnikinetics were connected to everything down to the molecular level. Stiles had learned that just when he thought his abilities were limited, there was an immense amount of power yet to be unlocked. Deaton had placed Stiles into the middle of the woods and blindfolded him. Stiles’s task was to find a single paper clip hidden amongst the foliage. 

_”Feel what’s around you, Stiles,” Deaton said, his voice echoing from all around. Stiles took a deep breath in and tried to focus. “Feel everything. Feel each gust of wind, each blade of grass. You are connected to it all, able to detect any change in the environment.”_

_On the count of three, Stiles was unleashed. With no sight to help him, he used his abilities to duck under branches and jump over rocks. He felt everything without even being near it. He could feel the stream ten steps to his right, the poison ivy a few yards to the left. And in the middle of it all, there was a slight irregularity in the subatomic makeup of the typical environment. He kept following the tingling feeling on his skin, now so in tune with his power it was second nature to practically see everything around him without actually seeing anything. He found the paperclip seconds later buried under a mound of dirt._

Now, Stiles closed his eyes and tapped into these new surroundings. He felt every piece of matter, organic and manmade. Then there it was, a slight waver in the air. He opened his eyes and could practically see the thin stream that had been the path of the bullet. He followed the sight and walked down the steps subconsciously. Everyone was now focused on him, silently allowing Stiles to do his thing. He kept following the stream until he ended up near everyone’s cars. It ended right at the tire of his very own jeep. 

“Holy shit,” Stiles snapped out of it and leaned down to inspect the flat. “Someone shot my tire.” There, buried deep in the deflating rubber, was a tiny bullet that had pierced it just right. 

“Um, I think we should all get inside,” Lydia was starting to freak out and she ushered everyone back towards the door. They all happily obliged, Stiles running in with the bullet in his hand, but not before looking out into the dark forest beyond the houses. The stream disappeared through the trees. Someone had shot at them, and he didn’t think it was just some hunting accident.


	3. Chapter 3

“Everyone calm down, you all smell like anxiety,” Derek hissed to the frantic group of teenagers. He really felt like a babysitter sometimes being nearly 22, at least with everyone but Stiles (cause that’d be just weird). 

“Well can you blame us?” Scott fought back, getting in Derek’s face. The rest of the group watched from their places scattered around the living room. “How are you so calm about this? Someone’s out there with a gun, and they _shot_ at us.”

“They didn’t shoot _at_ us,” Derek rolled his eyes and stood his ground as the younger boy tried to challenge him. He didn’t find Scott intimidating at all, but he supposed he had to be nice because the guy was Stiles’s best friend. “You’re the one who said it could have been someone hunting. I can’t smell something beyond a certain point, so maybe you were right.” He turned to face the group now, trying to ease their nerves. “We’re in the middle of the woods, it wouldn’t be the most unusual thing for people to shoot guns around here.”

“How would a bullet strike my car from that far though?” Stiles spoke up and stood from his place on the armchair to stand next to his boyfriend. “It came directly from the tree line in a straight line, almost as if someone had perfect aim to their target.”

“From that far?” Isaac added. “Seems…”

“Uncommon?” It was Lydia, who finally calmed down enough to stop shaking. That made everyone freeze in their tracks. 

Malia inhaled shakily. “It couldn’t be her, could it?”

Derek’s face grew cold and tight. Everyone knew who _her_ was without saying anything. There was only one infamous uncommon with marksmanship abilities that they knew of in the area. “No,” he said sharply, his tone making Stiles even look surprised. “She’s locked up, for good.” A heavy silence settled over the friends. 

Peter, Kate, Jennifer, and Deucalion had been locked up in a maximum security prison built specifically for uncommons deep in the middle of nowhere Southern California. They were on the other end of the state behind the securest walls out there. There was absolutely no way Kate would have escaped, but something deep inside of Stiles’s mind questioned that thought. “So what are we going to do?” Malia asked.

Stiles stepped up this time, a harsh expression still on his boyfriend’s face. “We’re going to carry on,” he said in a lighter tone. “We’re a house full of uncommons, so we’ll know if a threat is out there. For now, we’re on vacation people! Enjoy it.”

…

So they did just that. The next couple days of their lake getaway were peaceful and without any incident. The only thing Stiles worried about was making sure no one heard or walked in on his and Derek’s _very_ frequent hookups. He didn’t feel guilty, two other couples in the house were probably having as much sex as they were. Although, no one had werewolf stamina like Derek.

Stiles fell onto the mattress, completely panting and out of breath after what would always be absolutely mindblowing sex. Derek was unaffected, immediately pushing himself up off the bed to clean them both up. “I can’t keep up with you,” Stiles laughed and stretched his arms behind his head. He was still butt naked, but Derek never made him feel insecure or shy about it. The wolf worshipped Stiles in a way no one ever had. He also had turned a lot more possessive of Stiles in the days following the almost-kiss Stiles had with Malia. No matter how many times the teen questioned it though, Derek just stayed silent and kissed him again.

Derek returned from the bathroom with a smirk on his face and a towel in his hand. He got to work cleaning Stiles up and leaned down to press a light kiss to his lips. “You’d think you’d be able to after eight months,” Derek said against Stiles’s mouth. 

Stiles playfully shoved him off and got to work putting on new clothes. A few of them were planning on going on a hike soon, wanting to take advantage of the beautiful mountains around them. People had calmed down since the gunshot incident and Stiles just opted to fix his tire later when they’d have to leave. The only other suspicious thing to happen since was that creepy neighbor once again staring at them out his window. As soon as Stiles had looked though, the man quickly shut the curtain. 

A knock at the door made Derek shut himself inside the bathroom, still naked from their activities. Stiles quickly buttoned up the rest of his flannel and walked over to open it. “You guys finally decent enough to go on the hike? We’re leaving in five,” Scott said with a knowing grin on his face. Stiles playfully shoved his friend.

“Like you didn’t just do the same thing,” Stiles said and gestured to the dark hickey on the guy’s neck. The skin around it was flushed red, a sign the mark was fairly fresh. Scott just turned on his heel and flipped Stiles off as he retreated. 

Two minutes later everyone was downstairs with backpacks packed and hiking shoes on. Lydia, Isaac, Liam, and Theo opted to stay behind and go swimming instead. The remaining group made their way out the door one-by-one, excited to explore nature on the beautiful sunny day. Derek remained close by Stiles’s side the entire time, an unreadable expression on his face. Stiles didn’t mind, though, loving the presence of his lover nearby. Malia and Scott were far ahead, jumping over fallen trees and ducking under low branches as the elevation grew steeper and steeper.

It was truly beautiful and made Stiles nostalgic of the preserve back home. Noah and Claudia used to take their young son hiking frequently. Stiles’s mother loved nature, loved the feeling of the wind in her hair and water between her fingers. It was always magical exploring the preserve with her, and she always knew just where to go without a map to find the most breathtaking views of lakes, mountains, and a cliffside overlooking the town they called home. Stiles really missed that.

As much as he loved home, though, this hike had it beat. There was no urbanization besides the lake home for miles, so colorful trees painted the hillsides. The sky was bright blue, and between some branches he could make out the large lake below. “Guys!” Malia called up from ahead and turned back to the couple. “A waterfall!” Stiles wasted no time in running to catch up, Derek hot on his heels. Sure enough, they stopped next to Scott and Malia at the top of a hill and when they looked down, there was an incredible waterfall rushing off the cliff next to them. “Anyone up for a swim?” 

Stiles looked at the girl next to him like she was crazy, but she was already dropping her bag down and taking off her clothes. She had worn a swimsuit for the hike to jump right in the lake after they were done, but now it served another purpose. Malia jumped down some rocks so she wasn’t so high above the water, but still took a leap of faith and jumped off the cliffside. The three men let out noises of fear and surprise when she disappeared below the surface. They didn’t even know how deep it was. 

“Malia?!” Stiles called and prepared himself to have to go in and rescue her if need be. His heart was starting to pound in his chest, but ten seconds later a brunette head popped up. Malia laughed up at them and wiped the water in her eyes before swimming over near where the waterfall crashed down.

“Come on!” Her voice echoed through the forest and up to the guys. They all looked at each other and shrugged. Why not?

Scott went first and stripped down to his shorts. He backed up a few feet to get a running start before launching himself off the cliff with a loud holler. Malia squealed from below as his impact splashed her in the face, then she gestured for Stiles and Derek to follow. 

“Go on,” Derek said and helped Stiles shrug his backpack off. “I’ll just watch from up here.”

Stiles pouted at the man as he took his shirt off. “What?” he said. “Derek, you have to do this if I am.”

“It’s fine Stiles, I’m perfectly happy up here,” Derek replied, but there was an abnormal shakiness to his voice.

Stiles stared at him for a few seconds before a large smile slowly took over his face. “Holy shit,” he said. “You’re scared of heights!”

Derek immediately put up a stoic wall and shook his head. “What? No, I am not,” the wolf said, but it wasn’t convincing.

“You totally are!” Stiles continued to laugh, but quickly apologized when he got murder eyebrows glared at him. “Hey, why don’t we do this together then?” He held out a hand.

The wolf eyed the hand suspiciously for a second, then looked back up to Stiles. After a few seconds he finally sighed and proceeded to take his own shirt off. That was really a sight Stiles never got tired of: the way Derek’s muscles rippled as he manhandled the fabric over his head and threw it down on the ground. They better jump before he popped a boner up here. 

“You ready?” Stiles asked and intertwined their fingers. Derek still looked unsure, but nodded and took a deep, shaky breath. “Alright, on the count of three. One…,” they took a step back to get a running start, “two…,” Derek took another deep breath to calm himself, “three!” The pair ran towards the edge together and soon the ground gave away as they leapt into the air. 

Then a loud pop echoed through the forest.

Stiles hit the water with his hand empty and his ears ringing. He was stunned, almost too stunned to swim up to the surface. The water around him was slowly stained more and more red and he tried to tell where the bullet struck him. Was it his leg? His arm? His chest? Was he dying? It felt like it. But then two arms were hoisting him up to the surface and someone started screaming his name. “Stiles?!” It was Malia. His name wasn’t the only one being screamed though.

“Derek!” Scott was nearby, probably comforting the wolf as Stiles laid bleeding out. Stiles started to tune back in with the world, though, and soon realized _nothing actually hurt_. He looked down through the water and saw no blood leaving his body. It wasn’t him. He wasn’t the one shot.

Stiles started thrashing in Malia’s arms and she let him go. He swam faster than he ever had over to Derek’s side where Scott was treading water to hold him up. Derek was conscious but struggling to stay afloat. Together, the friends hoisted the wolf up onto a large boulder sticking out of the water and Stiles was kneeling down by Derek’s side immediately. “Der? Derek!” Stiles cried out when it all finally made sense. Someone had shot Derek while they were in the air. A bullet wound was as clear as day in the man’s abdomen, blood already oozing out. 

They were all on the boulder now, Malia crying, Scott trying to hold in his vomit, and Stiles still absolutely in shock. Everything was overwhelming, his senses driving him mad. It made the water around them start to churn and the waterfall beat down louder and stronger. Derek roared out in pain and laid his hand over Stiles’s, which was already trying to stop the bleeding. “Derek!” Stiles sobbed over the man. 

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Derek choked out through breathy, strained cries, but then it seemed as if more pain rushed through him and he roared out again. His fangs came out and his eyes flashed blue. Derek was strong. He was the strongest person Stiles knew, and that wasn’t just because of enhanced strength and super healing powers. The man sat up on his elbows and moved Stiles’s hand away to reach into the wound with two fingers. Everyone visibly cringed, and this time Scott did throw up into the water. Derek’s hands came out covered in dark blood with a bullet between his fingers. “Shit!” Derek nearly howled as more pain hit him. 

“What the fuck just happened?!” Malia said while still crying, her body in a near fetal position. The water was still moving violently around them like the sea in a storm, but Stiles couldn’t stop it. Each pained cry of Derek’s struck him in the chest like it was his own pain. 

“Derek,” Stiles’s body was shaky as he once again helped put pressure on the wound. “You’re not healing! Why aren’t you healing?!” His voice came out fearful, angry, and distressed. 

Derek’s body collapsed off his elbows and his head hit the rock with a smack, but it was no pain in comparison. “The bullet…” his voice was raspy as he panted. “Wolfsbane.” It was the only word he could get out. Wolfsbane. _Poison_. Stiles recalled Derek telling him that there were few things that could kill a wolf, but wolfsbane was enemy number one. 

“Fuck,” Stiles said. Tears were rushing down his cheeks and both his and Derek’s shorts and hands were bloodstained. “What do we do?!” Each word was a desperate cry. Derek’s eyes then started to roll into the back of his head and Stiles violently shook him back awake. “Derek!” He was going in and out. Stiles quickly turned to Malia. “You need to run ahead, warn the others. Scott and I will get Derek out of here.” She had fear in her wide eyes, but when Stiles screamed “Go!”, Malia was gone in a blur. 

“Stiles?” Scott approached them and set a hand on Stiles’s shoulder. The teen clenched his eyes shut to hold back more tears from coming but shook his head.

“Come on, we have to get him back,” Stiles said. He was not okay, but his only thoughts right now were about saving the love of his life. He stood up to his feet and put his hands out.

“No,” Derek coughed out, but it was clear he was out of it. “I’m fine, I can walk.” He tried to push himself up, but immediately collapsed back down. 

“You’re not fine!” Stiles yelled out and got back to doing what he planned to. A visible energy surrounded the wolf and soon his body slowly lifted into the air. Stiles used his powers to navigate them back up to grab their stuff and get back. 

As they made their way back down the mountain, Stiles kept Derek’s body suspended and as still as possible to not risk any more damage to him. Scott led the way, using his force field to clear up the path. Once they got to the bottom and the end of the tree line came into view, Stiles carefully set Derek down, who was nearly passed out now. “Scott, I can’t carry him like this to the house or other people will see,” Stiles said. Scott nodded, knowing exactly what Stiles meant. He laid one hand on Stiles who then grabbed Derek’s hand, and they all turned invisible. 

Stiles looked back down to his boyfriend as they carefully traveled across the final stretch and nearly broke down, but knew he had to stay strong. “Stay with me Der,” he said softly and clutched the man’s hand tightly in his own. He couldn’t help a few tears that escaped. “You’re gonna be okay.” He was saying it to reassure himself too. The truth was Stiles was terrified. Derek was poisoned and way too disoriented to tell Stiles what to do. 

The rest of their friends were ready and waiting with the door open. Everyone looked terrified, and Stiles assumed that meant Malia filled them in. Isaac was crying into Lydia’s arms. Scott and Stiles made themselves visible once they got to the cabin steps and wasted no time in carrying Derek’s body in, not stopping until he was set down on the couch. “Oh,” Lydia let out a shaky word and used Isaac as support to keep her shaky legs up. 

“He was shot?” Liam’s voice was as strained and panicked as the rest of theirs. 

Stiles nodded and thanked Theo who brought over a pile of towels and bandages. They’d do the wolf no good, though. This wasn’t a simple flesh wound. No, the bullet hole was now oozing black liquid. Dark spider veins stretched out from the sight all across Derek’s abdomen. “He won’t make it if the poison reaches his heart,” Isaac cried. He had joined Stiles on the floor, both of them broken from the sight of the strongest man they knew reduced to pale and dying. 

“So what do we do?” Stiles turned to him with some hope in his eyes. It seemed that Isaac knew enough about wolfsbane to maybe have a solution. 

But the teen just shook his head with wide, watery eyes. “I...I don’t know!” he cried. “We need to call Talia.”

A phone was thrust into Stiles’s hand and he quickly typed in the ten familiar numbers to Derek’s mom. It rang once...then twice...then three times, and he was really starting to freak out. Finally, the familiar and comforting voice of the headmaster answered. “ _Hello?_ ” Talia’s voice wasn’t that comforting this time, though, and immediately set something in Stiles on high alert. The woman never sounded panicked, until now. 

“Headmaster Hale!” Stiles put the phone on speaker as everyone crowded in. Stiles opened his mouth to relay their issue, but another one of Derek’s pained howls cut him off. 

“ _Derek?! Was that my son?!”_ Talia said in an even more frightful tone.

Stiles laid a hand on Derek’s forehead to brush back some of his hair. The man was burning to the touch and sweating profusely. “There’s been an accident,” Stiles cried out. “Derek...h-he’s been shot.”

“ _Shot?! By who? Stiles, tell me everything!”_ Talia and Derek had a rocky relationship, but this was the voice of a mother who would do anything for her children. Stiles shared the whole story, every detail of how it happened and what Derek’s condition was now. After Talia got over her initial shock and let out some quiet cries, her voice returned to hard and serious to save Derek. “ _I can’t believe she’s found you already._ ”

“What?!” Theo said. “ _She?_ ”

“ _Kate_ ,” Talia replied, and everyone froze in shock. Lydia quickly ran over to lock the door.

“How is that possible?” Stiles asked. “She...she’s in the most secure prison.”

“ _She must have had someone on the inside,” said the headmaster. “She came here first, luckily after everyone left for vacation, but us remaining at the school went into lockdown. She was trying to find you kids._ ”

“And you didn’t think to, oh I don’t know, _tell_ us?” Malia spoke up.

Talia let out a deep sigh on the other line at the same time Derek’s body jerked. The spider vein-looking lines were slowly spreading. They needed to act fast before it was too late. “ _I’ve been trying to call for days,_ ” Talia said. “ _She must have cut off our connection here. Today’s the first day where it’s gone in and out, so I don’t know how long this call will last.”_

“We can worry about Kate after we save Derek,” Stiles interrupted. Derek’s skin was paler than his own and it was clear the man was having trouble breathing. “What can we do?”

“ _Do you still have the bullet? If you open it up and rub the wolfsbane in his wound, it will heal,_ ” Talia instructed. Stiles started looking around, then realized Derek had been holding the bullet on their way back. He pried his boyfriend’s fingers open, but it was nowhere to be found.

“Damnit!” Stiles cursed and checked all around them. “Derek must have dropped it. Now what?”

“ _I’m going to assume Kate used Columbian Monkshood, or purple wolfsbane, because it’s native to our area,_ ” Talia said. “ _It should be in the woods near you all, so you’ll have to go find the plant._ ”

A heavy silence fell over. No one said anything, but they all knew what each other were thinking. Nobody wanted to go back outside with Kate out there. If she could take down the wolf with healing abilities, she could take down any of them. Well...maybe not Stiles. He stood up and thrust one of the bloody rags into Isaac’s hand and motioned for him to keep it pressed to Derek’s wound. “I’ll go,” Stiles said, but Scott put a hand on his chest to stop him. 

“You can’t go alone Stiles,” he said. “I think a few of us should go, strength in numbers. I’ll go with you.” He didn’t look completely sure about that, but Stiles appreciated his best friend and hugged him tightly, blinking back tears against the guy’s shoulder.

“I will too,” Malia stepped up. “You may need the speed.”

“And I can cover high ground,” Liam said. Theo looked apprehensive to let his boyfriend go, but just pressed a hard kiss to his lips and told him to be safe. 

“I think this should be enough,” Stiles said and knelt down one more time next to Derek. He caressed the man’s cheek and slowly leaned down to kiss his forehead lightly. “We’re going to save you Der, I promise.” A muffled noise came from the other end of the line, then the connection died and Talia was gone. They were on their own now with a psychopathic sharpshooter on the loose trying to kill them. Great. 

“Stiles,” Lydia stopped him before the four went out the door. They had all grabbed backpacks and strapped on their hiking boots, ready to face anything. “Talia said it was Columbian Monkshood. It will be a light indigo color and look kind of like lavender.” She grabbed Stiles’s head between her hands and closed her eyes. Suddenly, an image of what he assumed to be the wolfsbane flashed into Stiles’s mind thanks to Lydia’s abilities. He nodded at her in thanks and gestured for Liam, Malia, and Scott to follow him out the door. “Be safe!”

Stiles took one last look at Derek on the couch. Isaac was tending to him now, Theo right above him with a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Take care of him,” Stiles’s voice cracked as he said it, then he forced himself to turn around and leave, the need to cure Derek fueling each step.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, questions, and kudos are always greatly appreciated.


End file.
